♪ welcome to the most social car we've ever designed. the all-new nissan murano. nissan. innovation that excites. hello, everyone i'm joy reid in washington, d.c. on this tuesday. developing now on "the reid

report," two months after their decisive midterm victory, republicans' congressional takeover is complete. right now you're looking at live pictures of capitol hill where vice president joe biden is holding a ceremonial swearing-in for members of the senate. we're awaiting john boehner who will be introduced by democratic minority leader nancy pelosi. moments ago boehner successfully fought off an insurgency of a dozen rogue republican house members who challenged his re-election. kelly o'donnell joins us live from capitol hill. it's a busy day there. let's talk about that vote that just took place. a small but vocal minority. how did it play out? >> reporter: joy, this was really their moment for the most conservative members who wanted to put pressure on john boehner, wanted to take some of the sort of luster out of his day. and they did that but they did not have enough in numbers to prevent him from continuing as speaker of the house. newly elected by the 114th

congress. you know, the anger from conservatives has been about a couple key issues that are not new. their opposition to boehner is largely not new. upset they say about immigration and accusing boehner of not doing enough in the last congress to prevent the president from moving forward with his executive actions on immigration. and some of the general issues of wanting boehner to stand up to the president more. well that effort was launched it was brief, loud and boisterous but john boehner retains the gavel for this new congress. 25 republicans voted against speaker boehner by effectively voting for someone else. a few other names were offered as alternatives but boehner carries the day. that will be important because this is the first opportunity john boehner will have to work with a republican counterpart on the senate side. no drama today, as mitch mcconnell game majority leader of the senate. it's a different process there. so he had already been selected by republicans to be the leader of the senate.

that will change the dynamic because the majority leader decides what issues what votes happens on the senate floor. we've gone for several years now as harry reid being in charge, running the democrats' agenda through the senate. now republicans will get a turn. and it is a real test for mitch mcconnell and john boehner. can they deliver? one of the things we learned today is they plan to move forward with keystone pipeline but the white house says the president will veto that if it gets to his desk. >> you know, kelly, on that note, let me ask you just a little about what you're hearing in terms of strategy on the hill because for republicans, now that they have the senate and they can, as you said send things up from the lower house up into the senate if they wish to, for boehner's team is the strategy to more -- to create more bipartisan bills that when they get to the president's desk, at least have enough democratic support to maybe influence the white house to go along, or to just send really hard core strictly partisan

bills to the white house, knowing they'll be vetoed? >> well they have been saying for a long time that there have been bipartisan bills that have support, not of an overwhelming number of democrats, per se, but enough democrats. things related to jobs. things related to the manner we talked about like the keystone pipeline. they do want to put that pressure on the white house to say, okay the congress has now acted. mr. president, what will you do? >> just to interrupt you for a moment. that's john boehner walking in as we can see. i want to let the viewers know that's happening. go on. >> reporter: yes, he's had a rough day, waiting for this moment. now, here's a chance for boehner to be celebrated by members of the house as he will take the gavel, presented by nancy pelosi the minority leader in the house. this is a point of celebration. can you see there is the family spirit of the day as well. lots of children and families are here for the oath of office for all of the members. now this ceremonial moment

which is significant. for as much bashing as congress gets, a lot probably well deserved, these are days where they pause and they celebrate the institution of congress and what it can mean or should mean for the american people. so, back to the substance of your question. there will be a lot of pressure to have some of those message votes. but for example one of the things you'll see house republicans want to do is to examine the issue of the 30 or 40-hour work week as it relates to the health care law. trying to reinstate the idea that a 40-hour work week is good for the economy, good for jobs. that will be a challenge to see how that does. and, of course remembering in the senate you need 60 votes. republicans have 54 so there will still need to be compromise to get any of those purely republican ideas from the house through the senate. so while they're in charge there will still have to be work with key democrats who might be open on some of these issues. keystone is one of those early tests. there are some democrat who is do support that. that will give us a way to see

how it plays out with the veto threat from the white house and will that actually happen. >> interestingly enough in the senate of course,there are -- as you said 54 republicans, not enough to sustain a potential filibuster. and a loflt democrats in the senate who were the natural constituents for keystone mary landrieu no longer there, a liberal in the caucus. one of the sources of complaint from conservative members in the house against john boehner were that as you said, he wasn't moving through a agenda, he wasn't moving it through the house in a manner in which they preferred. for john boehner now, in order to retain this leadership knowing he still has this unhappy caucus that he hasn't really had a good track record of corralling do you think there will be pressure on him to try to send through some of these really strictly partisan measures if only just to mollify that ruckus caucus.

>> reporter: not all of them in that most extreme -- >> i'm sorry. one moment. i think we have nancy pelosi starting her introduction of john boehner. i'm going to ask you to hold on for one second so we can listen in. >> to our newest members, it is a special pleasure to give you an exceptional welcome and congratulations. welcome to our newest members. as was indicated by the vote many of our colleagues from the state of new york are not with us because they're attending the funeral of governor mario cuomo. i extend condolences to our colleagues from the state of new york and have extended the sympathies in this body to governor cuomo's widow, matilda, and to his family.

as an italian-american, i'm especially proud of his leadership. and send extended sympathies to his family. thank you, cuomo family. thank you, new york delegation. none of us would be standing here without the support and the support of our families. today i'm going to thank my dear husband of 51 years, paul pelosi and my five children and nine grandchildren. all the pelosis and del delassandros. but as we are standing -- [ applause ] let all of us applaud all of our families. to my constituents and democratic colleagues, my constituents in san francisco, i

thank you for the privilege of serving in the house. but to my colleaguings, i thank you for the honor of serving as leader. but all of us should applaud all of our constituents for sending us here. so, let us again, applaud our constituents. each one of us as you know represents republicans, represents democrats, independents and others. and we should always pay tribute to the american people. the american people have called upon each of us to serve them. they have entrusted us with their hopes, their dreams. they have asked us to address their challenges. the financial stability of the strong middle class and those who aspire to it is the bedrock of our economy and the backbone

of our american democracy. we have moral imperative to ensure that working men and women enjoy the bounty of their unprecedented productivity and to expand purchasing -- the purchasing power of families. to that end, today democrats will put forward a legislative package to put americans back to work building our roads and bridges and meeting the needs of the american people paid for by bringing our tax dollars back home to increase the paycheck of america's working families. we invite our republican colleagues to join us in supporting the stop corporate ex expatriation. it's time to stop rewarding companies to move overseas and instead use those dollars to create good-paying jobs here at home.

we ask for republican support and action on the ceo/employee fairness act to ensure workers share in the fruit of their productivity. denying ceos the ability to claim tax deductions on annual income over $1 million unless they give their employees a well-deserved raise. we must have an economy that works for everyone not just the privileged few. we hope republicans will join us to achieve a better infrastructure and bigger paychecks for the working people of our country. better infrastructure, bigger paychecks. we hope this 114th congress in the year we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the voting rights act. one of the most consequential pieces of legislation in our history. president lyndon johnson and congress passed it. the president signed it. reverend martin luther king jr.

and others as well as our own john lewis fought for it and inspired it. we must continue to inspire the engagement of every american. it is the vote that preserves our democracy, ends injustice, advances dreams and sustains our freedom. in terms of protecting our freedoms, let us recognize and salute and thank all of those brave americans who protect our rights indeed protect all of our liberty. our men and women in uniform, our veterans and our military families. mr. speaker, today we're at the start of a new year and a new congress. with fresh opportunity for the

american people. today is the feast of the epiphany, is it of the magi so let us have our own epiphany. for this moment, on this day, we are not just republicans or democrats, but are americans. not just in name, but in spirit. stand on the higher ground than the last election. and my home is in the inevitable exchanges and clashes that may happen in the months ahead, we will not lose sight of the truth, that is as fresh as this ceremony is today and as historic as our republic that the ideals that unite us are stronger than the issues that divide us in this house. that does not mean that we are dispensing with all disagreements and debates. our democracy is robust, precise

precisely because we have beliefs and we stand proudly, even persistly for them. and our democracy endures and prevails because in the end, we are humble enough to find a way forward together. so my fellow colleagues of the 114th congress let us uphold our deep and different convictions, but let us honor our common obligation to our country. in this congress we will do so under the leadership of speaker john boehner. this house will continue to be

led by a proud son of ohio and a happy fan of the ohio state football team. >> yes! a man of abiding faith, great heart and deep dedication john boehner is truly a gentleman from ohio. congratulations to you, john, to mr. speaker, to debbie to your daughters, lindsey and tricia and the entire boehner family. thank you for sharing john boehner with us. [ applause ] god bless you and your family, mr. speaker. may god continue to bless the members of this house of representatives. this is the people's house.

this is the people's gavel. and the people's name it is my privilege to hand it to the speaker of the house for the 114th congress the honorable john boehner. mr. speaker. god bless you, mr. speaker. god bless america. thank you. >> thank you. thank you! friends, colleagues countrymen especially the people of ohio's eighth congressional district, thank you for sending me here. and let's today welcome all of the new members and their families to what we all know to be a truly historic day. [ applause ]

and we welcome all of the members back who were re-elected. we want to welcome your families as well. i want to thank my family. [ applause ] i was doing pretty good on the walk over here from my ceremonial office until i ran into devin nunez's three little girls, my three biggest fans. one came running over and gave me a kiss. i was a mess. this is the day the lord has made. let us rejoice and be blad. we rejoice our new members and families are here. we welcome them. we're glad and humbled to begin anew by the servants of the people's house.

here it is our duty and privilege to lend a willing ear to the people, to make laws in tune with their priorities and within the limits of their constitution. in recent months our economy has shown signs of improvement. and after difficult years, it may be a temptation to accept what i'll call the new normal. but america did not become exceptional by ease. far too many americans remain out of work and too many are working harder only to lose ground to stagnant wages and rising costs. we can do better. we can build an economy that furthers better paying jobs more growth and more opportunity for the nation's middle class. this is our vital task. we'll begin this endeavor on common ground both in letter and in spirit. it was actually my predecessor, nicholas longworth of cincinnati, who changed the order of things so that all

members now take the oath of office at the same time. he called this innovation a time-saving device. sounds like my kind of guy. but this shared ritual is no passing formality. it's a frontier where words end and where deeds begin. now the pessimists don't see us crossing this channel. they say nothing's going to be accomplished here. that the vision is wider than ever and so gridlock will be even greater. frankly, fair enough. the skepticism of our government is healthy and in our time, quite understandable. but one problem of saying it can't be done is that it already has been done or at least started. in the last congress this house passed a number of jobs bills with broad support from the majority and minority. we'll begin our work on this common ground taking up measures to develop north

american energy restore the hours of middle class workers and help small businesses hire more of our veterans. [ applause ] i would like the president to support and sign sthees bipartisan initiatives into law. it will be a good start and more. it will be a sign that the logjam is breaking and it will be a foundation on which to address the bigger challenges in the pursuit of freedom and security. no this won't be done in a tidy way perform the walgts of ideas never ends and frankly, never should. as speaker all i ask, and frankly, expect is that we disagree without being disagreeable. in return i pledge to help each of you carry out your duties. my door of course, is always open. don't get carried with it all

right? but it's always open. my colleagues will do shadow boxing and show business. let me tell you and the american people, it's real work. it's a grind. as it should be in striving to preserve the things we all hold dear. every day you and i come out here try to plant good seeds, cultivate the ground and take care of the pests. and then with patience and some sacrifice and god's grace, there will be a harvest. and along the way we may falter but we americans do not fall away from the task. we do not quit. let's stand tall and prove the skeptics wrong. let's make this a time of harvest and may the fruits of our labor be ladders our children can use to climb the stairs to the stars.

thank you, all. and god bless the united states of america. thank you. [ applause ] >> the once and still speaker of the house, john boehner, giving his presentation of the opening, saying the log jam is breaking, the signs of such will be seen in the 114th congress. he is continuing to thank people. john boehner, as usual, emotional, as he made his delivery to his colleagues in the house of representatives, getting a standing ovation now. i believe he has more to say. let's listen back into john boehner. >> i would like to ask the dean of the house, the honorable john conyers of michigan, to administer the oath of office. >> if the gentleman from ohio would please raise his right hand. do you solemnly swear or affirm that you will support and defend the constitution of the united states against all enemies,

foreign and domestic that you will bear true faith and allegiance to the same, that you take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purposes of evasion and that you will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which you are about to enter, so help you god? >> i do. >> thank you very much. i pronounce you speaker of the house. >> thank you. thank you. thank you. according to the president, the chair will swear in the members-elect in mass. so the members -- all members will please rise. the chair will now administer the oath of office. all members will raise their right hands. do you solemnly swear you will support and defend the constitution of the united states against all enemies, foreign and domestic that you

will bear true faith and allegiance to the same, that you take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion, and that you will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which you are about to enter, so help you god? congratulations. you're now members of the 114th and congress! >> okay. now it is official. speaker boehner having administered the oath of office collectively to the new members of the 114th congress. let's go to kelly o'donnell. kelly, a very warm and bipartisan note that was sounded by speaker boehner as he retook the oath of office for himself as speaker. how long will that warm glow

lasts? >> reporter: we can be optimistic, right, joy, and hope it will continue? one feature of being speaker is you're speaker of the entire house. while we can certainly view john boehner as a political figure of the republican party, especially on a day like today, his role is constitutional one to be speaker of the entire house. it is a chance for those notes. also to point out john conyers, 85 years old, representative from michigan, today becomings the longest serving member of the house. john dingell had retired from the last congress. he's been in office since 1965. and he is now the first african-american to be the longest serving member of the house. so, that was a nice moment where you saw him administering the oath to the speaker. this is a day about history, a day about working together, a day about the possibilities of what congress can be. we know that might be short-lived when the real everyday politics resume. but it's one of those times

where the ceremonies of the institution matter regardless of party. it gives you sort of that sweep of history where you get a sense that these same rituals and traditions have been carried out over and over. people can be optimistic if they choose. they might be cynical. depends on your point of view. they will certainly be judged by what they accomplish in the 114th. we've seen the last couple of congresses have been among the do-nothing group. maybe this one will be different. that remains to be seen, that history to be written. but today is a day for families. it's for noteding some of the history. a lot of photos and selfies have been happening on the senate side. vice president biden has been doing for the last couple of hours individual photos with the senators who have just won or been elected to the senate with their families. it's been a lot of great moments there with the vice president joshing around with family members and kids and it's one of those days on capitol hill where not a lot of the work will get done today, but they're setting up the tone.

it was a tough day for boehner with dissidents among his party, voting against him. but now that has passed. he'll continue to face challenges from those most conservative members and certainly democrats who are smaller in neb in this house have their leadership behind nancy pelosi. the real stuff will get back into swing very soon, joy. >> yeah kel y i don't know how to feel that the sweep of history now includes the selfie but i guess it does and there's not much we can do about it. quickly, a few features of this 114th congress, the largest cbc we've seen 104 women, considered a more diverse caucus, despite the fact it would have to be 50% women in order for it to be representative of the population, but more representative of the country. does that change in any way the dynamics the demographics inside that body? >> reporter: when i talk to women lawmakers or those bringing a religious or ethnic view to the congress what they talk about is being present, to

represent what people who have walked in their shoes want to see done by congress. so it does change the dynamic. have you different leadership styles in terms of how negotiations get carried out. women often have a different way of doing things than men. that's true in all kinds of professions. it's true in politics as well. you get a sense that as you get a more diverse congress that reflects more of what's out in america, that that's probably good for the process. and it's interesting, of course that we still note that because it is not a true mirror of the country in terms of percentages and exact representation. but many people feel that congress that is more like america is certainly a good thing. you have in mia love for example, the first african-american republican woman elected to house. she joined the congressional black caucus today. that was not necessarily a guarantee that she would. and then of course you've got members who are veterans in this congress congress. no word war ii veterans but more

veterans from the more recent conflicts in iraq and afghanistan. it's interesting to see who congress is. over time we'll see how they perform. >> all right. nbc's kelly o'donnell. kelly, we're focusing on the house today. of course, it's not over. it's not official until vice president joe biden says watch out now. i think once he said that, we're on. thanks very much. really appreciate it. you can stay with "the reid report" for more on the first day of the 114th congress as republicans and democrats lay out their conflicting governing agendas. we'll talk with congressman dan can kilde of michigan and we'll talk about the big move jeb bush made today which means this political legacy is ready to run. ♪ mmm mmm mmm mm mmm mm mmmmmm ♪ here we go, here we go here we go. ♪ fifty omaha set hut ♪ ♪ losing feeling in my toes ♪ ♪ nothing beats that new car smell ♪

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ever designed. the all-new nissan murano. nissan. innovation that excites. the honorable john a. boehner of the state of ohio having received a majority of the votes casts, is duly elected speaker of the house of representatives for the 114th congress. >> with john boehner officially now re-elected to third term as house speaker two questions remain for the lower chamber. with 13 fewer seats to work with what role will house

democrats play in setting the agenda? joining me now, democratic congressman dan kildee of michigan, one of the top raking democrats in the house. congressman kildee, let's talk about the future for the house of representatives. now that speaker boehner has 246 republicans, he can get to 218 in theory without any democrats. does that make -- does that marginalize democrats to the point where you either have to begin to compromise with the republican agenda or just stand on the sidelines and watch them work? >> well it shouldn't marginalize the voices of the minority. our frame hers a masterful system that allows the majority to govern but the minority to have -- ability to have input. so, i hope that this new majority in both bodies will give the republicans, i guess, the freedom they need to include us in the conversation to a much greater degree than they did even in the last congress. the way the rules of the house have been used it's very difficult for our voices to be heard. it remains to be seen. i hope the speaker takes a

seriously the commitment he made and will invite us to the conversation. i think there are many ideas we share with the republican members of congress. if we can focus on those things we agree on then we can actually get some things done. >> let me ask you about a couple of items. this morning i was at the swearing-in for the congressional black caucus. the new -- congressman butterfield, the new chairman of the cbc, mentioned a couple items the cbc members would like to see brought to the floor. one is a mix to the voting rights act. as we all know the supreme court laid waste to a key section of the vra. there has been some bipartisan support to a fix, including sensenbrenner. do you see a possibility of that getting to the floor and passing? >> i sure hope so. this is one of those issues that really ought not have a partisan delineation to it. the question is whether we can move past what will likely be some initial theatrics on

keystone, on the affordable care act and then get to those issues like the voting rights act or potentially even like an infrastructure initiative, which everybody knows, republicans and democrats, know we have to do. but we'll see. i'm hoping the momentary theatrics will soon be replaced by real legislation. >> let me ask you about one more issue and that's keystone. we've heard indications from the white house that the white house would veto a keystone bill as we believe it would be constructed now. there has been some talk in the senate of democrats adding amendments to the bill that would essentially put republicans on the spot for more job programs that are focused on american jobs and that kind of thing. could you see something like that hang in the house? where house members -- house democrats might propose to -- that the white house might consider signing? >> it's possible. it depends on what the vehicle bill looks like. if it is the bill that came before us last year, that

completely strips any responsibility of the company to adhere to environmental law and does not require them to pay into the pipeline oil spill trust fund that vehicle, i think, would not be one we could support adding other efforts to. obviously, the focus on keystone has been about jobs. it won't create the kinds of jobs that a serious infrastructure bill would do. i really think we need to focus our attention on getting serious and moving past keystone and talking more about the real needs of the american people. that's highways that's rail that's ports. you know that's bridges. that's the kind of work that really put people in america back on the job. >> all right. thank you very much congressman, dan kildee. appreciate it. let's bring in our panel, angela is a principal at impact strategies, and mark murray is our nbc senior political editor. let's talk about this new congress. of course, i'm tempted to go right here to hogan but i'm going to resist that temptation.

new year, new me. i'm going to start with mark murray. speaker boehner, people who know him, he's wanted to be speaker of the house probably his whole adult life but nobody would say his experience as speaker was pleasant so far, has been pleasant so far. he's had to deal with a caucus that's been very difficult to wrangle. now that he has 264 members and he could theet reticily get to 218 with only republicans, does john boehner's life get easier from here? >> i think it's marginally easier, but even today recognizing losing 25 votes, that's double from what happened in the beginning of the 113th congress. . -t shows you he has 25 maybe 30 house republicans who are always going to be against him. when you try to cobble that coalition of 218 votes and trying to do it without any democratic support, you do have a very fine line to walk. the good news for speaker boehner is that his caucus is much bigger than it was in the 113th congress. he has a bigger margin for error but when you go into every vote knowing you have 25 people against you from your own party,

that's a tough situation. >> by the way, it's the exact margin is 28. so he can afford to lose only 28 members before he'd have to start going to nancy pelosi for votes. so, is his problem still the same problem? >> it's a similar problem. they're not always going to be against him but for the most part, they won't be with him. the incoming freshmen ran on a litmus test question would you vote for john boehner as speaker? they said no. i will be interested once this shakes out, once we have the names, how many went back on their campaign pledge and how many stuck to it. two years, right out of the gate you lied to your constituents? that might be a problem. >> interesting point. angela, for the democrats, now you're in the position of knowing there are 246 potential votes out there, with 28 to give, how do democrats now strategize on how they're going to be able to have an impact? >> just like with the republican party that is becoming increasingly diverse, there are some call extremists.

i'm sure you might not like that term. but it's true. folks don't just protest boehner. they protest all things obama and are very pro-tea party. for democrats you have a similar kind of challenge. while there are a lot of folks even on "k" street in d.c. who are frustrated that democratic majority shrank a bit, i'm happy because the congressional black caucus grau. women's representation on both parties grew. you have a diverse congress now, more so than last time and you have to pander to different types of interests. i think at least we'll have a very creative legislative process if we're going to have a productive one, which as we've seen in the last two congresses, hasn't been the case. >> hasn't bent case. what's interesting, and ang lashgs i want to stay with the point you just made. at the black caucus meeting this morning, one of the things that g.k. butterfield, leading the caucus, said they would like to see proposed he called it the clyburn strategy which is to

attach to any spending out of federal agencies 10% of that spending going to the poorest communities. and that meant not just urban but also rural. he made the point that republicans actually represent more of these impoverished rural communities. in a way, having a less stressed out john boehner, could that in a sort of odd way get through maybe some kinds of legislation like that that otherwise would have no chance? >> you know one of the biggest challenges it country faces right now is how do you take care of the people who are in more impoverisherished areas. this country, it's a tale of two recoveries. on the one hand in the coast, here in washington, d.c. new york city, los angeles, things are gl going really well. there needs to be a lot of solutions on how do you kind of put the recovery back to everyone else. joy, to your question on how john boehner, i really think the big battlegrounds will be the united states senate. we can get to see how you get to 218 volts for a lot of things, with or without democratic support. but mitch mcconnell having to try to balance the presidential

candidates like ted cruz rand paul running and his caucus, versus some centrists, that's going to be the area where the legislation is going to live or die through the united states senate. >> it's an open amendment process. that's the crazier part. it's like all these folks have messaging platforms now. they're not just legislating. they're trying to send a strong message to presidential contenders to the american population that would be voting. >> not only that not to cut you, but you're also going to have mitch mcconnell in a position now where he can't say whatever the house does is now irrelevant because harry reid is stopping it. he's now in a position where conservatives are going to be saying, you have to deliver. if we pass through a bill saying, no more immigration whatever, or whatever it is we want to pass in the house, now mitch mcconnell is on the hook for that. >> not only mitch mcconnell, but everybody in this town thinks and has bought into the narrative that mitch mcconnell is some type of bargaining chief. he knows how to get things done. he's an old hand in the senate. he can actually move people onto

his side to afek wait change, get things to the senate. as mark mentioned, he's right, there's ail staunch group on the right, a term i won't use, i'll just say staunch -- >> extremists. >> extremists on the right. they're going to fight him at a lot of these turns. we'll see how good he can wrangle his caucus to get something through. >> if 30 of them were to decide they're going to stand against john boehner, he's going to have to do just the thing that enrages them which is go to democrats to make up the votes. >> we just saw this in the spending legislation last month. 30 days seems like a lifetime now in politics but just 30 days ago where john boehner was having to use a coalition of democrats and republicans to get things done. sometimes when john boehner has to go to those 80 or 100 democrats, sometimes that means john boehner has to give up something. one of the problems republicans have confronted in this new era of politics is when you have big -- if you're conservative, saying i'm going to stand up to

john boehner, i don't think he's conservative enough, that forces john boehner to have to go back to democrats to pass legislation, that ends up undercutting the republican position. >> not only that and i have to get to this and i know -- hogan, i halfway promised myself i wouldn't do it but i have to. the guy that's going to be the whip, the guy that has to corral the votes, whip the vote for john boehner is still a guy named steve scalise who at once called himself david duke without the baggage. in the end, even though he's going to get the position doesn't this hurt the republican party brand every time he has to go forward and whip votes? he has to be a public persona. >> i think he can handle the brand damage over time. i think what will make republicans sit up and pay attention, and this does the same for democrats s money. if they can't raise money with this guy out in front, and every time we go and try to -- to bolster our ranks with dollars and try to get people on our side, and that's the sticking point every time i think eventually they'll have to do something. >> will donors show up to an

event if steve scalise is the headliner? >> it depends. corporate pacs maybe not. they have mixed audiences. the most important thing for them is refer new. so them supporting a person in leadership means it's going to undercut their dollars, i don't think so. >> wait until after the break. stay with us. hopefully we can have more of this panel on the other end, or maybe my producers are saying i should just say thank you. >> thanks joy. >> after the break, another look at vice president -- after the break, as we go to a break, with a look at vice president joe biden performing the ceremonial swearing-in of senators. at least i know i will be right back.

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st. louis county prosecuting attorney robert mccullough is being sued. a grand juror in the michael brown investigation is suing the prosecutor for the right to speak publicly about the case. the juror is also challenging

the statements made by mccullough who he announced the grand jury decision to not indict then ferguson police officer darren wilson, implying all 12 jurors believed there was no evidence to support charges. as of right now, mccullough's office says he's not been served with the lawsuit. his spokesperson said only quote, not been served and no comment. jeffrey mittman from aclu of missouri, the organization that filed the lawsuit on behalf of juror. let's start with the content of what this juror -- we're calling juror doe says they believe the prosecutor either did wrong or why they want to speak. >> right. thanks, joy. as you know at present because the secrecy gag order is still in place, we're limited with what we can share and the grand juror is limited in what the grand juror can share. i can tell you the grand juror believes in the legal process, believes in being a good citizen and public participation.

we have outlined for the judge a few issues. number one fundamental at this point o an important public policy debate, the only viewpoint being heard is that of government. you and i know the first amendment doesn't allow that. so with the representation by mccullough that this is what the grand jurors did, this is what they thought, this is what they saw, that's not a complete and accurate picture. we can't have good public policy debates. more importantly, our legislators can't make good public policy decisions without a complete and accurate picture. >> that is very interesting. you do then as you said have this prosecutor giving his own version of what he says that this grand jury believed and they can't counter it if they disagree with him. one of the other elements of the case presented by the aclu on behalf of this plaintiff was very interesting. this grand jury was in place before they got the darren wilson case. they were hearing other cases. i'm going to read a little bit from what the plaintiff said. this is a quote from the lawsuit. from the plaintiff's perspective, the investigation of wilson had a stronger focus

on the victim than in other cases presented to the grand jury. from plaintiff's perspective, the presentation of the law to which the grand jurors were to apply the facts was made in a muddled and untimely manner compared to presentation of the law in other cases presented to the grand jury. meaning this grand juror watched the prosecutor's office presented other cases before darren wilson's and then said this one was done completely differently. >> that's exactly right. that's a very important distinction. as you know, we need to present to the court a general outline of the legal claims. we have to advise the judge, here is a real live dispute. there's information here, from the government the government's viewpoint and here's what the other side could say if the grand juror were allowed to present. again, i want to be clear. this is not about who's right, who's wrong. this is about allowing the public to have complete information and not allowing the government to sensor what we can hear. and also our elected officials in jefferson city, our state

capital, are considering bills whether or not we have grand juries. how do we deal with racial injustices. what do can we do with police misconduct. this grand juror needs to give an accurate picture of what occurred in that grand jury space. >> i think for some people wonder, how can it be constitutional for a prosecutor to put a lifetime gag order on any american just because they served on a grand jury? >> i think that's exactly right. that really is the fundamental question. we know and our constitutional democracy, we never let the government control, one, what we talk about, two, how we talk about it and then sensor everybody else. i have to remind viewers, sensor them with the threat of criminal prosecution. this is a very real chilling effect. if any grand juror were to share information, that grand juror is subject to stul criminal prosecution, potentially even jail time. >> yeah. i want to note for our viewers, there's been a separate filing by some missouri residents who have said misconduct complaint

against bob mccullough and the two prosecutors who handled the case, separate from this case and the naacp legal defense fund also separately they want mccullough and his team investigated for potential misconduct. they sent a letter to the judge on that regard. a lot happening and moving in the darren wilson case. jeffrey mittman, executive director of the aclu of missouri. thank you for being here. >> thank you. a number of bills related to police tactics are on lawmakers' plate this congressional session. according to the root, at least five new pieces of legislation are set to be presented following a wave of demonstrations related to the black lives matter movement. in december president obama signed the death in custody reporting act, he signed that into law, which requires police departments to report all police custody deaths to the justice department.

♪searching with devotion♪ ♪for a snack that isn't lame♪ ♪but this...♪ ♪takes my breath away♪

breaking news. former virginia governor bob

mcdonald has been sentenced to two years in prison for public corruption. earlier the judge reduced the maximum penalty to up to eight years down from 12. his wife is scheduled to be sentenced next month. that does wrap thinking up for "the reid report." live from the nation's capital, i'll see you back at the same time tomorrow 2 p.m. eastern. be sure to visit us online at thereidreport.msnbc.com. "the cycle" is next. if i can impart one lesson to a new business owner, it would be one thing i've learned is my philosophy is real simple american express open forum is an on-line community,

that helps our members connect and share ideas to make smart business decisions. if you mess up, fess up. be your partners best partner. we built it for our members, but it's open for everyone. there's not one way to do something. no details too small. american express open forum. this is what membership is. this is what membership does.

breaking news leads "the cycle." i'm toure. as we come on air, former virginia governor bob mcdonald was sentenced to two years in prison and two years probation for federal corruption. jane, outside the courthouse in richmond. run down the details. >> reporter: i ran out of the courthouse, judge was reading the sentence saying two years in prison, two years of probation. this is a pretty good sentence for what he was charged with.

he could have gotten as much as 12 years earlier this morning. the judge said early on he was looking at six to eight was the guidelines the probation office looked at and he was considering. toward the end of the trial he said, you know this is a good and decent man and by all accounts we have to take that into consideration. he said you know we are going to give you a meaningful sentence, but when it came out, i think there were some people who were surprised that it was so much lower. it's clear that the judge really did take the defense into consideration. the defense was really that you know his wife had brought this person in and he just wasn't